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3A8B4385-9D19-4389-893D-9B232DE2313E
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Update Title: 3A8B4385-9D19-4389-893D-9B232DE2313E
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Bruce Adolphe’s solo piano work depicts seven provocative and profound statements. The composer has carefully selected thoughts that are intellectually stimulating and emotionally charged, and —of particular importance— that use imagery suggesting musical parallels. Inspiration is drawn from quotes by Heraclitus, Rilke, Kafka, Emerson, Novalis, Chief Seattle, and Shankara. The piece is dedicated to Helen Heslop and Carlo Grante and was recorded by Carlo Grante on Naxos American Classics (8.559805).
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Solo piano
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Dedicated to Helen Heslop and Carlo Grante
Program Notes
Program notes by the composer: The idea of this piece is, as the title suggests, to musically depict seven provocative and profound statements. I have been careful to select thoughts that are intellectually stimulating and emotionally charged, and —of particular importance— that use imagery suggesting musical parallels. In the first thought (Heraclitus), music itself —harmony both obvious and hidden— is used as imagery, so music can express the idea naturally. In the second thought, Rilke contrasts surfaces with depths, another harmonically vivid image. Kafka (No.3) contemplates a point of no return, which suggested to me a musical structure that I would otherwise not have imagined. Emerson (No.4) talks of the power in nature, which I chose to portray in terms of restrained music that evolves and eventually explodes. Waking and dreaming (Novalis, No.5) are natural subjects for music, and to “dream that we are dreaming” is a wonderfully musical image. Thought No.6 (Chief Seattle) is different from the others, not only in its length, but also in its social, historical, and political significance. Chief Seattle’s phrase “memory is only a story” is deeply musical, as is the tone of the speech, with its ghosts crowding the living. The final thought of the set, Shankara (No.7) draws attention to the problem of art itself as compared to nature (the moon)—which also applies to music as compared to birdsong, a howling wind, or a crack of thunder— and so it is a fitting end to this philosophical musical journey.
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1. "The hidden harmony is better than the obvious one." Heraclitus (6th - 5th Century B.C.E.) 2. "Don't be confused by surfaces; in the depths everything becomes law." Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) 3. "Beyond a certain point there is no return. This point has to be reached." Franz Kafka (1883 - 1926) 4. "Everything in nature contains all the powers of nature." Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882) 5. "We are close to waking up when we dream that we are dreaming." Novalis (1772 - 1801) 6. "When the last red man has vanished from this earth, and his memory is only a story among whites, these shores will still swarm with the invisible dead of my people. And when your children's children think they are alone in the fields, the forests, the shops, the highways, or the quiet of the woods, they will not be alone." Chief Seattle (1786 - 1866) 7. "When the moon shines in its exceeding beauty, who would care to look at a painted moon?" Shankara (686 - 718)
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